Govt, pharma sector urged to help set up 3,000 diabetic foot clinics

Leading diabetologists and health experts have called for establishing around 3,000 diabetic foot clinics with telehealth facilities throughout Pakistan, especially at district, tehsil and taluka levels, to prevent around 1,000 amputations that are being carried out on a daily basis in the country due to diabetic foot ulcers.

They also urged the authorities to make arrangements for the provision of specialised footwear for people with diabetes because especially designed shoes and insoles have proved to be effective in preventing amputations and saving the limbs of 90 per cent of the people living with diabetes.

They stressed on the training of general physicians, and said that the spreading of awareness about prevention of diabetes and its complications is also a need of the hour.

“According to the International Diabetes Federation’s [IDF] data, around 33 million people are living with diabetes in Pakistan, of whom three to four million people develop diabetic foot ulcers, which is a serious complication of type-2 diabetes,” Dr Saiful Haq said during the concluding ceremony of an international health conference on Sunday.

“Around 400,000 people face amputations of the lower limbs annually in Pakistan, 50 per cent of which can be prevented with the establishment of around 3,000 specialised diabetic foot clinics in the country,” Dr Haq, president of the National Association of Diabetes Educators of Pakistan (Nadep), added.

‘Nadep Footcon 2022’, organised by Nadep in collaboration with the Baqai Institute of Diabetology & Endocrinology, the IDF, the D-Foot International and other organisations, was attended by health experts from several countries of the world as well as different cities of Pakistan.

The two-day international foot conference is being held for the past several years in various cities of Pakistan, and it has been addressed by leading diabetologists and endocrinologists who have shared their experiences in managing and treating diabetic foot ulcers and preventing lower limb amputations.

On Sunday, lifetime achievement awards were presented to leading physicians and health experts, including Prof Dr Tahir Hussain, Prof Dr Ejaz Vohra and Prof Dr Fatima Jawed for their contributions in the field of diabetes treatment and management in the country.

Three young researchers were also given cash awards during the concluding ceremony of the conference for their research papers on the management and treatment of diabetes. “Every year, around 400,000 people lose their legs, feet or parts of their lower limbs due to diabetic foot ulcers in Pakistan, but with better care, timely intervention and treatment as well as education and awareness, thousands of amputations can be prevented,” Prof Abdul Basit said.

“For the past several years, we have trained hundreds of doctors, general practitioners and nurses to help people in preventing diabetic foot ulcers, and have thus saved hundreds of limbs.”

The eminent diabetologist, who is serving as the president of the IDF for the Middle East & North Africa region, claimed that 50 per cent of the amputations due to diabetic foot ulcers have been prevented at 300 foot clinics established by them throughout the country.

He said that at these clinics, podiatrists and technicians trained by them are helping people with diabetes, adding that now there is a need to replicate this project in the entire Pakistan. “In Karachi, we have managed to bring down amputations due to diabetic foot ulcers from 27 per cent to only three per cent, which means that hundreds of lives have been saved, since most people with diabetes die within a few years of losing their lower limbs.”

Prof Basit said that with the use of technology and awareness, even the incidence of diabetic foot ulcers can be prevented to a large extent. Dr Zahid Miyan, chair of the conference, said that with the help of multidisciplinary care, trainings and awareness, around 50 per cent of the amputations have been prevented.

He called for using the technology to reach a maximum number people with diabetes to make them aware of its complications, especially diabetic foot ulcers. He said that there is an urgent need to spread awareness among healthcare professionals as well as common people so that diabetic foot ulcers and other complications of diabetes can be prevented in Pakistan.

He pointed out that besides training doctors, there is a need to train thousands of nurses and take them on board in the management of diabetes in Pakistan. He also pointed out that most complications of the lifestyle disease can be prevented by increasing awareness and educating the masses.

Dr Zulfikar G Abbas, Tanzanian expert of diabetic foot ulcers, spoke on the multidisciplinary management of diabetic foot ulcers, pointing out that early diagnosis of this condition can prevent further progression of the disease.

Several other international experts, including Eric Senneville from France, Luigi Uccioli from Italy, Jamil Halabi from Lebanon, Catherine Steer from South Africa, William Akiki from Lebanon and Roberto Anichini from Italy, also addressed the conference.